- “I'm thumpin'. That's why they call me Thumper.”
- ―Thumper[src]
Thumper is a major character in Disney's 1942 animated feature film Bambi. He is a small grey rabbit with a brazen, yet sociable personality. He is known and named for a habit of thumping his left hind foot.
Background[]
Thumper is a young, comical rabbit and is also a well-known inhabitant of the forest. Despite being mistaken for a female by viewers, he is actually male. He was the first and closest friend of Prince Bambi, whom he sees as great potential for amazing things; taking the young fawn "under his wings" and teaching him the ways of the forest, to some extent.
Development[]
The character was an important influence on the development of the 1942 film, Bambi, which started production with an adult tone that seemed too serious and non-commercial. As voiced by then 4-year-old Peter Behn, the vivacious character of Thumper was expanded from its original minor role and led to a focus on the young animals in the story.
Personality[]
Unlike Bambi, Thumper can be rather mischievous but ultimately means well. He often gives his close friends advice on a handful of topics, but they usually get them into trouble. As a young adult, he hasn't changed much and continues to speak rather loud and thumps his left or right foot.
Physical appearance[]
Thumper is a rabbit kitten with gray fur, hazel eyes, a white tail, a white muzzle, white incisors, and white patch of fur on his chest. The insides of his long ears and his nose are pink, his cheeks, feet, belly, and the areas around his eyes are cream. His paw pads are pink. As a kitten, Thumper's left incisor is missing, whereas as a buck, he has both incisors and a set of whiskers.
Appearances[]
Bambi[]
One beautiful day in the forest, a doe gave birth to Bambi, the young prince of the forest. Thumper and Bambi quickly form a friendship, and Thumper takes it into his hands to teach Bambi the ropes, such as how to walk and talk. During one of these lessons, Bambi and Thumper meet and befriend a skunk named Flower. On another day, Bambi is out with his mother when Thumper appears again, telling him to eat blossoms and not grass. However, Thumper's mother forces him to eat the grass as well, being that it's healthier (and silently whispers to Bambi that it's awful to eat).
During the winter, Thumper teaches Bambi how to ice-skate, which proves to be rather difficult for the young prince. Later on, Bambi's mother is tragically killed by Man.
Young Adult Thumper in the original film.
The next scene takes place years after with a now young adult Thumper, Bambi, and Flower. It is Springtime and Friend Owl, a good friend to Bambi's family, warns the trio about the "dangers" of becoming twitterpated (falling in love). The three claim they'll never fall victim to this, and make their way through the forest.
As their walk becomes longer, Flower falls for a female skunk. Disgusted by the sight, Thumper and Bambi continue on. Eventually, a female bunny becomes smitten with Thumper, and she begins to flirt, luring him into her lap. Soon after, Bambi would fall for his childhood friend Faline. Sometime after, Thumper has revealed to have children of his own, as well as Flower. Both newly named fathers make way for Faline's den to witness the birth of Bambi's children, with Bambi now assuming the role as Great Prince of the Forest.
Bambi II[]
Thumper in Bambi II.
The events in Bambi II take place after the death of Bambi's mother but before Bambi's young adulthood. With his mother gone, Bambi is to live with his father, The Great Prince of the Forest, until a suitable replacement mother is found. During this time, Bambi finds it to be very difficult to connect with his father, and Thumper offers to help. Throughout the film, Thumper gives Bambi lessons on how to impress the Great Prince and prove that he can be mighty as well.
As a side plot in the film, Thumper is constantly being followed by his sisters, though he finds them to be rather annoying. At the climax of the film, Man's dogs hunt down Bambi, and Thumper pitches in to help by telling Flower to make his "brave face" which causes him to let out his stink.
In the end, Thumper tells the story of the climactic dog chase to Faline, and other members of the forest, though he exaggerates it to make him seem like more of the hero.
Other appearances[]
Thumper was set to have his own show as a part of The Disney Afternoon block entitled Thumper's Thicket, although the idea for the show never really developed and is one of few ideas for Disney Afternoon shows that never made it off the drawing board.
In the 1988 feature film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Roger Rabbit mentions his uncle Thumper, implying that Roger Rabbit might be Thumper's nephew.
In Mickey Mouse Works, Thumper makes two cameos in the Donald Duck short "Donald's Charmed Date".
Thumper makes numerous cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse. In the episode "Timon and Pumbaa", Thumper was going to be used by Timon for his "pull a rabbit out of a hat" trick, though Thumper thumped Timon's face and ran off. In the episode "Pete's House of Villains", he and Bambi were angered when Pete insulted Flower by saying that the club stinks, especially him.
In Enchanted, a rabbit resembling Thumper appears at the beginning of the 2D-animated portions of the film.
Thumper makes an appearance in the Mickey Mouse episode "Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special", where he and Bambi are seen on an ice-skating rink.
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, a Bambi poster featuring Thumper, Flower, and Bambi can be seen in a young Disney fan's bedroom.
In Once Upon a Studio Thumper, Bambi, and Flower appear, popping out from their frames after being told by Mickey that it is picture time. They head over to Bernard, Miss Bianca and Orville's frame where he tells them to wake up, in which they pop out of their frame, crashing. They then join all of the Disney characters, including Friend Owl, as they take a group photo to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Disney Parks[]
Thumper at Walt Disney World
Thumper appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meetable character.
During his early appearances, when Flower also appeared, Thumper used to appear in his child form, though as the years passed, the costume used was changed to his adult form, as shown by him now having both his buck teeth, his more developed neck frill, and the fact he is now found with or without Miss Bunny.
Disneyland[]
Beginning in 1963, Thumper alongside Flower were common meetable characters before slowly getting phased out near the end of the 1970s. He wouldn't reappear at Disneyland until the inaugural year of Parade of the Stars (formerly known as "45 Years of Magic Parade") where he appears during the parade's finale. He wouldn't return to meeting guests until 2014 for the former Spring/Easter-themed event "Springtime Roundup" alongside other well-known Disney Bunnies (such as Rabbit, White Rabbit, Br'er Rabbit, and Roger Rabbit) hosted at Big Thunder Ranch.
In Disney California Adventure, Thumper makes an appearance in Winter Dreams, the winter-themed rendition of the nighttime spectacular World of Color.
In Disneyland's fireworks show Wondrous Journeys created to celebrate Disney's 100th Anniversary. Thumper makes a brief appearance alongside Bambi and Flower.
Walt Disney World[]
Similar to Disneyland, Thumper alongside Flower were common meetable characters at the Magic Kingdom throughout the 1970s. Between 1985 till 1999, Thumper's only live appearances was for Walt Disney World Happy Easter Parade. He wouldn't return to meeting guests until 2005 at Disney's Animal Kingdom to promote the DVD release of "Bambi Special Edition".
Between 2010 till 2014, Thumper alongside his wife were meetable at the Camp Minnie-Mickey section of the park. Since the demolition of Camp Minnie-Mickey, Thumper alongside Miss Bunny make occasional meet and greet appearances near the park's entrance and on Earth Day. During the 75th Anniversary of Bambi in 2017, he alongside his wife meet guests at Rafiki's Planet Watch.
Thumper and his wife appeared in the "Valentine's Day" edition of the nighttime show Celebrate the Magic at the Magic Kingdom. Thumper has his own spell card in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom known as "Thumper's Mighty Thump".
During the EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival, Thumper has his own topiary located in Future World.
Thumper also appears in the bubble montage in Fantasmic!, and in the Walt Disney World Easter Parade alongside Miss Bunny.
Hong Kong Disneyland[]
Thumper and Bambi can be found in the Hong Kong Disneyland version of It's a Small World.
Tokyo Disneyland[]
In Japan, Thumper makes occasional live appearances during the park's Easter parades held during the Spring season (such as Disney's Easter Wonderland, Hippity Hoppity Springtime, and Usatama on the Run!). Thumper alongside his mate Miss Bunny are both prominent during the Hippity Hoppity Springtime Parade where both are seen on the parade's opening float (later moved to a different float for its final run in 2016). For the 2015 version of the Hippity Hoppity Springtime Parade, he alongside his mate hosted the show stop sections.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- According to a line spoken by Roger Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, he has an uncle named Thumper. Roger also said that Thumper had prostate (which he misinterpreted as "probate") trouble and had to take medication for it.
- Thumper is mentioned in a first chapter of a Junie B. Jones book entitled, Junie B., First Grader: Dumb Bunny, along with Bugs Bunny from Looney Tunes, the Bionic Bunny from Arthur, Buster Bunny from Tiny Toon Adventures, the Trix rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Peter Rabbit.
- Thumper was originally meant to have a much smaller role in Bambi, but when Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas noticed how cute the voice actor sounded, they insisted he had a greater role.
- Thumper is one of John Lasseter's favorite Disney characters, to the point that Lasseter named one of the grasshoppers in A Bug's Life after him.
- In reality, rabbits thump their feet when frightened.
- Thumper was listed #44 in Empire Magazine's The 50 Best Animated Movie Characters.
- In the 1963 Disneyland album Peter Cottontail, one of the stories focuses on Thumper called "The Story of Thumper", narrated by Lucille Bliss. [1] The story explains that Thumper used to thump uncontrollably when he was young before gaining control of it.
- The album also reveals the names of his four sisters: Blossom, Violet, Nillie, and Frillie.
- Thumper's original voice actor, Peter Behn, initially auditioned for the role of Bambi but was rejected. However, he was later chosen for the role of Thumper, based on his previous audition.
- Thumper's father was originally meant to appear in the film but was scrapped.
- When the Disney Studio was commissioned to design troop insignia for the US Military in World War II, Thumper appeared on a few aircraft as nose art alongside tanks and plans. A few munition factories even stamped pictures of Thumper to blockbuster bombs.
- Thumper alongside Bambi and Faline appeared in the 1951 manga adaptation of the film by Osamu Tezuka with permission from Disney.
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